The study aimed to determine various constraints faced by women with physical disabilities and their vocational rehabilitation in India. It revealed that the majority of these women belong to a lower income group. Their financial constraints hinder their treatment and education, and compel them to focus on vocational courses that will provide them with employment. It was found that there is a deficit in general coordination and a huge gap between the demands of the job market and the type of vocational courses done by the women, mainly because the vocational courses offered by the special institutes are outdated. The article concludes by stressing that successful rehabilitation of these women requires overall coordination, ranging from removing various constraints in the education system, modernisation of the vocational services according to capability as well as interest, and providing suitable vocational courses.

This study explored the influence of personality traits on injured workers' interaction with workers' compensation systems. Data were collected from 89 participant claimants (males, 41; females 48, mean age = 45 years, SD = 10.67 years) at various levels of involvement with the workers' compensation system: previous claimants (n = 39), current claimants (n = 28), and nonclaimant workers (n = 22). Significant differences in personality traits were found between these groups of compensation claimants. Current compensation claimants displayed greater emotional instability and introversion compared with those less acutely involved in the compensation system. Current claimants also experienced clinically significant levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, and reported reduced social functioning, relative to previous and nonclaimants, respectively. Overall, subtle differences were found to exist in personality and psychological health between groups of workers at different levels of involvement with the workers' compensation system.

The efficacy of institutional and community-based treatment services is crucial in maintaining the health, safety, and quality of life of persons with psychiatric illness. A factor limiting the success of community interventions is the rehospitalisation of persons with mental health disorders due to behavioural concerns, particularly aggression toward self and others. Understanding impulse control, a construct commonly thought to have a relationship to aggressive behaviour, may provide psychologists with insights into individual behaviour in novel or unpredictable environments. This study examines the validity of biopsychosocial assessment of impulsivity in understanding inpatient behaviour in 53 individuals currently residing in a State psychiatric facility. Using three separate measures of impulsivity, a regression analysis was used to determine the predictive value of these measures in relation to institutional behaviour. Support was found for using impulsivity assessment as a predictor of institutional behaviour. Discussion and suggestions for utilising biopsychosocial assessment of impulsivity in inpatient and community settings is provided.

Therapeutic intervention usually begins with a detailed description of the presenting problem and its antecedent history. Through the process of communicating their problem the client presents a story, potentially laden with their experiences, attitudes, beliefs and understandings. The topic and manner in which a story is relayed provides direct and indirect sources of information that help the therapist to both understand the client's problem and formulate goals and approaches to therapy. Rather than simply using the client's story as a guide to understanding and treatment, narrative therapy focuses on the client's story or ‘narrative’ as a medium through which change can be effected. During the process of narrative therapy the client is encouraged to deconstruct and critically appraise their story in the search for new meanings (White & Epston, 1990). The client is encouraged to retell their story with new language and new insights. Thus, the implementation of narrative therapy may be construed as a natural extension of taking the client's problem history, where the story told serves as the content foundation for the therapeutic process. The purpose of the present article is to provide a brief overview of narrative therapy techniques and their application in counselling.

Research on managing challenging behaviour in children and young people with disabilities is becoming increasingly complex as a guide to best practice. There continues to be an outpouring of single-case studies conducted in the traditional research methods and conceptual models of applied behaviour analysis. In contrast, there is growing recognition of the importance of context, social systems, and cultural values, not only in understanding the causes of challenging behaviour, but in the design of interventions and the evaluation of rehabilitative treatments. A ‘third wave’ of educative intervention approaches attempts to integrate these two perspectives within concepts of positive behaviour support. We offer practitioners some guidance to the extant empirical literature by bringing together the most promising themes within this rapprochement.

Rehabilitation professionals have long used work samples in assessing the ability and functionality of clients requesting rehabilitation services. Although there has been remarkable development in the type and scope of work samples, the incorporation of work samples into assessment has lagged behind that of other measurement systems. One logical reason is the prolonged time required to administer work samples. Despite this time commitment, work samples have usefulness and value for rehabilitation counselling and vocational evaluation. The purpose of this brief report is to provide evidence to indicate the usefulness of work-simulated work samples versus ability-predicted work samples. The authors discussed the advantages and disadvantages of both assessment approaches in demonstrating the benefits in vocational assessment for clients and professionals.

This study examined the efficacy of an evidence-based supportive leadership program to address psychosocial hazards identified in an organisational health review of a government department. Participants were employees identified as having supervisory and management roles (N = 57; males = 30, females = 27; age range 22 to 63). The program was implemented systematically over a 6-month period using 2 × 2 day intensive workshops, interim 360 peer review assessment and 1-day follow-up. The program used a variety of behavioural learning approaches with individual and group feedback from professional, peer and self-review. The results showed a major improvement in organisational health with significant changes in risk status across the domains of Relationship, Manager and Peer Support. Improvements in organisational health made within the leadership group had generalised across the entire workforce and continued to be maintained at the 18-month follow-up.

Psychological obstacles often impede the unemployed from finding work. The current study was aimed at investigating the effectiveness of a combined cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) and lifestyle program when applied to an unemployed population from a Disability Employment Network (DEN) provider. CBT focuses on the relationship between an individual's thoughts, feelings and behaviours. The lifestyle program was developed to assess and provide psycho-education on sleep, diet, exercise and social habits. Eight participants completed a questionnaire and interview prior to and following participation in the lifestyle program. Measures included the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSES), Life Orientation Test (LOT), Self-Efficacy Rating scale, one-on-one interview and participation in the lifestyle program. Key workers participated in a one-on-one interview and rated their perception of their participants' engagement in the job search process. Results were analysed using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Levels of depressive symptomatology and optimism were not seen to improve, however, levels of self-esteem and ratings of engagement in the job search process did. Inclusion of the lifestyle component appeared to yield promising results for future studies. Further research into application of qualitative analysis in unemployment research is recommended.